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clade · 20 represented species

Ceratopsia

Ceratopsia is a lineage of beaked herbivorous ornithischians that includes small early forms and the large horned ceratopsids.

Explore this branch Parent: Marginocephalia

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Ceratopsia

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Representative silhouette for Ceratopsia
3Direct child groups
4Countries represented
161–66 MaDataset range

Definition

Characteristics and significance

Ceratopsian evolution records the enlargement of the skull, development of a neck frill and repeated elaboration of horns and facial ornament.

  • Narrow rostral bone forming the upper beak
  • Bony shelf or frill at the rear of the skull
  • Horns and enlarged frills in ceratopsids

Name meaning: Horned faces

Branch structure

Direct branches in this dataset

family

Psittacosauridae

Open branch family

Protoceratopsidae

Open branch clade

Ceratopsoidea

Open branch

Representative taxa

Dinosaurs in this branch

Side-view life reconstruction of Protoceratops andrewsiArt by PaleoNeolitic · CC BY 4.0

Cretaceous

Protoceratops andrewsi

A sheep- to pig-sized, four-legged ceratopsian from Mongolia’s Late Cretaceous dune fields, known from abundant skulls and skeletons, a juvenile nest and the extraordinary ‘Fighting Dinosaurs’ fossil.

herbivore~2 m
Side-view life reconstruction of Pachyrhinosaurus canadensisArt by Connor Ashbridge · CC BY 4.0

Cretaceous

Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis

A large Canadian centrosaurine whose nose carried a broad roughened boss instead of a conventional horn, known from multiple partial skulls and regional bonebeds.

herbivore~6 m
Life reconstruction of Centrosaurus apertus by Fred WierumArt by Fred Wierum · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cretaceous

Centrosaurus apertus

A short-frilled horned dinosaur from Alberta, famous for its long nasal horn, hooked frill ornaments and enormous mass-death bonebeds.

herbivore~5.5 m
Full-body side-view life reconstruction of Einiosaurus procurvicornisArt by Connor Ashbridge · CC BY 4.0

Cretaceous

Einiosaurus procurvicornis

A centrosaurine from Montana known from two multi-individual bonebeds, with a strongly forward-curving nasal horn and paired spikes on its frill.

herbivore~4.5 m
Full-body side-view life reconstruction of Nasutoceratops titusiArt by Olmagon · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cretaceous

Nasutoceratops titusi

A Utah centrosaurine with an oversized nose, remarkably long forward-curving brow horns and a comparatively simple rounded frill.

herbivore~4.5 m

Distribution

Geographic record

Mongolia · Canada · United States · China

Country-level summary of represented seed records, not a complete range map.

Sources

Further reading

Introduction to the DinosauriaDinosaur Paleobiology